Life Could Be
by FanGirlMott
Summary: It's years later and the Grey-Shepherd family are all grown up...
1. Chapter 1

'Bailey come on!' Meredith shouted through the house, 'You don't want to be late on your first day'

'He's probably making himself look good' Zola joked, 'But you better not make me late'

'Is everyone ready?' Derek asked walking out his bedroom into the main living space.

'Just waiting on Bailey' Zola said from the sofa

Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital was practically run by one family. Derek was the head of Neuro, which is where he belongs. He came back from DC years ago and decided to stay. Meredith was the head of General Surgery, following in the footsteps of her mother. Even though she hated people comparing her to her mother. Zola had completed her internship and had just been chosen to be Chief Resident over the other residents. Bailey had completed medical school, and was about to start his internship at the hospital where the rest of his family works. Ellis was 2 years through medical school, but she felt like she had to go. She felt pressured to since everyone else was a surgeon, but it isn't what she really wants to do. She wasn't living at home since she was at medical school.

'Bailey come on!' Meredith shouted again

'I'm coming' Bailey said emerging from the bathroom

'Right let's go then' Derek said

Everyone got into the family car and Derek drove them to the hospital. Derek and Meredith went to the attendings lounge to change into their scrubs and get on with their day. Zola went to the resident's lounge to change and start as chief resident and Bailey went to the intern's locker room to start as a surgeon.

 **Zola**

'Hey' Zola said to Sofia as she walked in

'Hey Chief' Sofia joked

'I'm glad you're back in Seattle' Zola said hugging her best friend

'Me too, we better get going. We have interns!' Sofia said skipping out of the lounge to find her interns

Zola made sure that she had her chief resident speech sorted, that she would have to give to the other residents before they were given their interns. Once she had given her speech, she went to the intern's locker room and gave the interns their assignments. Then she made her way to her patient.

'Mrs Skurski, I'm doctor Grey-Shepherd. What can I do for you?' Zola asked walking in

'I thought I had the stomach flu, but it turned into severe pain and I couldn't move. So, I thought I would come in and get checked'

'Okay, well I suspect it could just be gallstones. But I will call for a general surgeon just to check you over' Zola filled out the chart and paged for a general surgeon, she got a reply to say one was on their way

'Mrs Skurski…'

'Please call me Madeline'

'Madeline, Doctor Grey is on her way to assess you'

'Is she good?'

'I have to say she is because she's my mother, but she is definitely one damn good surgeon' Zola said at Meredith walked in

'You paged?'

'Yes, this is Madeline Skurski. Came in with severe stomach pains, suspected gallstones' Zola told her

'Okay, we will take you up for surgery so we can get a better look' Meredith said

'Doctor Grey-Shepherd, can you prep her for surgery and take her up. I will meet you up there' Meredith said before leaving the patients room

 **Meredith**

'Hey' Maggie said as Meredith and Derek walked into the attendings lounge

'Hey' Meredith said grabbing her scrubs from her cubby

'Doesn't Bailey start today?'

'Yeah, he does, but he's told us that he doesn't want anyone to know that were his parents' Derek said

'Oh, okay then' Maggie said laughing

'Zola didn't have a problem with everyone knowing' Meredith said, 'I understand where he is coming from though. I didn't want everyone to know that Ellis Grey was my mother'

'Alright then, well I have a surgery' Maggie said walking out the lounge

Meredith finished getting changed into her scrubs and poured herself a coffee when her pager went off

'I've got to go, Zola's just paged me' Meredith said

'You love getting to work with our daughter, don't you?' Derek asked

'Who better to work with?' Meredith smiled as she left the lounge

'Me!' Derek shouted as she walked out leaving him alone to change into his scrubs

Meredith made her way to the patient's room where she was paged. She assessed the patient then made her way to the OR ward. She wrote on the OR board and then waited for the patient to be brought up

'Doctor Grey' Miranda said walking over, 'Have you got a surgery now?'

'I do, but it should only take half an hour if I don't find anything else'

'Okay' Miranda said, 'Oh, do you have any more family members planning on joining this hospital?' she joked

'Well Ellis is in her second year of med school, so in two more years I hope so' Meredith laughed, 'I have to go, there's my patient

Meredith scrubbed in along with Zola, then went into the OR to start the exploratory surgery. She let Zola make the first cut, then she went along.

'Oh no' Meredith said

'What?'

'This isn't gallstones'

'It's not? What is it then?' Zola asked

'Cancer. She has advanced gallbladder cancer' Meredith told her, 'Let's close up, then you need to let Madeline know'

 **Bailey**

Bailey stood looking into his locker, after changing into his light blue scrubs. He was nervous about his internship, nervous that he would mess up.

'Hey, I'm Jason Murray' Another intern said to Bailey

'I'm Bailey Shepherd' He replied

'I'm Lucy Ryder' A girl walked over to them and introduced herself

'Hey' Bailey said

'Did you say your name is Shepherd?' Lucy asked, 'Are you of any relation to Doctor Derek Shepherd. The Neuro god?'

'Err…No' Bailey lied to them, he didn't want them to treat him any different. He knew that if they knew he was related to them that they would think he would get special treatment

Zola walked into the lounge to tell the interns what resident they would have

'Doctors; Murray, Shepherd and Ryder your resident is Sloan-Torres' Zola said before giving the other interns their instructions

'Oh god' Bailey said under his breathe. The four of them made their way to find their resident.

'Ah…interns' Sofia said as they walked over to her, then she noticed Bailey. Zola had told her not to say anything about knowing him

'I'm your resident you are interns. You do as I say when I say it, you are bottom of the surgical food chain. You are nobodies. You answer your pagers when paged, and you run' Sofia said, 'Now we have a patient. We are with Doctor Shepherd today, he is the head of Neuro, now follow'

They made their way to the patient's room, and met Doctor Shepherd in there.

'Doctor Sloan-Torres, these must be your interns' Derek said then looked up from his chart to see his son within the interns

'What do we have?' Sofia asked

'32-year-old Benjamin, has a tumour in his frontal lobe' Derek said, 'What part of the mind is the tumour affecting?'

'Shepherd, answer' Sofia ordered Bailey

'The personality'

'Correct. I am taking him for a tumour resection today. Shepherd you can scrub in with Sloan-Torres' Derek said

'What about the rest of us?' Lucy asked

'Ryder, you're in the ER doing sutures. Murray, rectal exams' Sofia said as they left the patients room

 **Derek**

After Meredith had left the attendings lounge, he got paged to a neuro case. A patient with a tumor in his frontal lobe. He knew he would have interns on his case today, but he didn't think that it would be his son.

Once he had seen the patient and told Shepherd and Sloan-Torres to scrub in, he headed to the OR board to see if he had any other surgeries scheduled for the day.

'Hey Shep' Mark said joining his at the OR board

'Hey' Derek said, writing his surgery on the board

'You've got Bailey scrubbing in?'

'Yeah, he knew the answers to the questions I asked' Derek said, 'He's going to do me proud'

'And I heard Zola is chief resident'

'Yep, she just needs to choose her specialty for her fellowship. Mer wants her to go into General, I want her to do neuro'

'You need to let her choose herself, she might choose plastics. Then she can work with me' Mark laughed

'She is not wasting her skills in plastics' Derek smiled

'It's harder than it looks you know, I just make it look easy because I'm so good'

'Don't you have a surgery or something?'

'I do' Mark said walking off to his surgery.

 **Ellis**

Ellis was at med school, but she hated it. She had completed half of it but she didn't really want to be a surgeon. It wasn't her dream. She didn't know how to tell her family though, they were all surgeons. Even her extended family were surgeons.

She was due to be in med school all day today, but she didn't feel like going in so she didn't. Once she knew that everyone would be in school, she planned to get dressed and go to the local mall. Meredith and Derek sent her money every month for food and necessities, not for skipping school and going shopping.

Meredith phoned Ellis at least once a week to see how she was doing and how things were going at school, so every time Ellis answered she lied to her mom. She told her everything was going well and she was up to date with her assessments.

They also visited her at least once a month, she had managed to talk her friend into helping her. whenever her family came to visit she borrowed her friends work to use as her own, as Derek always asked to see what she was up to.

She was lay in her room when there was a knock at the door, so she got up and answered it

'Hey' she said as she opened the door to her mate and boyfriend, 'What are you doing here?'

'We are taking a leaf from your book today' Her friend Rachel said

'We are spending the day with you today' Her boyfriend Jamie said

'But you two want to be surgeons, you need to be in school'

'We don't want to go in today' Rachel said walking into her room

'Okay then, well I was planning on going shopping' Ellis said

'We are having drinks after though, if I'm coming shopping I will need alcohol after' Jamie laughed

'Sounds good to me' Ellis said

Later in the day…

 **Zola**

Zola was stood outside Madeline's room, waiting to go in and tell her that she didn't have gallstones but that she had gallbladder cancer. She hated having to tell patients bad news.

'Hey Madeline' Zola said walking in

'Hey doctor Grey-Shepherd' Madeline said switching off the TV

'You can call me Zola' Zola said

'Did you remove the gallstones?'

'When me and Doctor Grey opened you up, we found that your gallbladder had calcified. I'm so sorry Madeline, it was gallstone. You have gallbladder cancer' Zola told her, 'I am so sorry'

'How…How bad it is?'

'The cancer is pretty advanced. It has spread to your liver and it has encased the hepatic artery'

'What does that mean?'

'It means, it is very advanced. Because of this we can't remove it' Zola said, 'I am so sorry Madeline'

'It's not your fault Zola'

'We can give you something for the pain to make it more comfortable'

'Thank you'

Zola prescribed Madeline something for the pain, then left the patients room. She knew she had to start thinking about what specialty she would go into and where she would study once she had chosen. She hadn't been paged to any other patients, so she went to her chief resident office and began to prepare the schedules for the residents to teach the skills labs.

 **Meredith**

'How was your patient?' Miranda asked her after coming out the OR

'The gallstones turned out the be advanced gallbladder cancer' Meredith said, 'Do you have a good case I can scrub in on?'

'Haven't got anything for the rest of the day, just paperwork'

'Ah that's boring. I need something good to scrub in on'

'If I get anything I will page you' Miranda said, 'Do you have any idea of what Zola is doing next year?'

'Not got a clue, I don't think she knows yet what she wants to specialise in'

'Okay, well let's just hope we don't lose her. She is a very talented surgeon'

'She is indeed' Meredith said, then her phone rang.

'Doctor Meredith Grey…Hi…She isn't at home, she is at the school…What…Okay, thank you for telling me. I will phone her tonight and see what is going on'

'Who was that?' Miranda asked

'That was Stanford medical school' Meredith said, 'I need to go and find Derek'

Meredith finished her patients chart then searched the hospital for her husband. She needed to speak to him about the phone call she had just had. She couldn't find him anywhere so she went to see if Zola had seen him

'Zola' Meredith said walking into the office and sitting opposite her daughter

'Mom' Zola said looking up

'Have you seen your father?'

'He has a surgery, he is resecting a tumour' Zola said, 'With Bailey'

'Bet that went down well with Bails' Meredith said, 'When did they start?'

'About an hour ago, they have about another hour or two left' Zola said, 'Why what's up?'

'I just had a phone call from Stanford about Ellis, and I need to talk to your father about it'

'I'll page you if I see him after they are done' Zola said as Meredith stood up and went to leave the office

 **Bailey**

Bailey was stood opposite his father in the OR, holding the suction. He was admiring his dads work, he always loved watching his dad do surgery. Ever since Meredith brought him to watch from the gallery. He didn't want to be treated different so he made sure that it wasn't obvious that he was staring

A few hours later they had finished in the OR, and Bailey, Derek and Sofia were scrubbing out. Derek looked over at Bailey, and recognised the expression on his face

'Doctor Sloan-Torres can you give us a minute' Derek said

'Sure' She said leaving them alone

'Bailey, it happens' Derek said

'But it shouldn't dad. It shouldn't happen. How can you do it?'

'Patients will die Bailey, sometimes there is nothing we can do. We did everything we could in that OR today'

'I don't know if I can do this' Bailey said leaning on the scrub sink

'Bailey, you came top in your class. You were born to be a surgeon and you are going to make a damn good one. Nobody prepares you for this, there isn't any lessons on how to cope with losing a patient. But it does get easier. There will be times when you do a few surgeries without losing a patient, hell your mother did'

'She did?' Bailey asked

'When you were younger, I got the job in DC. She did 89 surgeries without losing one patient, but when I came back she lost one. I do blame myself for that, but she did all them surgeries without any of them dying because she is a good surgeon. That will be you one day'

'You think?'

'I know so. Just take each day at a time, each patient lost is another one you have to save'

'Thanks dad'

'Right, I need to go and tell the family'

'No let me, let me do it'

Bailey left the scrub room after his conversation with his dad, we out the corner of his eye he saw Jason and Lucy run around the corner. He went to the waiting room to find the family of the patient he had just lost. The words from his dad gave him strength.

'Benjamin O'Leary's family' Bailey said

'Yes' A woman walked over, 'I'm Ruth, his sister. Is Ben okay?'

'I'm so sorry, while Doctor Shepherd was trying to resect the tumour Benjamin's brain started to bleed heavily. His brain then herniated, Doctor Shepherd tried his very best to try to stop the bleeding. I am so sorry' Bailey said to the sister

'Oh god…' Ruth said starting to cry

'Again, I am so sorry' Bailey said

 **Derek**

After his talk with Bailey, Derek made his way to the OR board to rub off his surgery and then phone the morgue. He was about to go to the cafeteria when he heard his wife.

'Derek' Meredith said

'Hey' Derek said

'I need to talk to you' Meredith said, walking to the attendings lounge followed by Derek

'What's up?' Derek said closing the door behind him

'Stanford called me earlier'

'Is everything okay?'

'They said that Ellis hasn't been going to her classes. She had missed quite a few since the new year started. They said that they need to know what is going on or they will kick her off the course' Meredith told him

'What?' Derek said sitting down on the arm of the chair

'Has she phoned you or anything?'

'No, I haven't heard anything since the last time we phoned' Derek said, 'Wait, has she been lying to us then. She said it was going well'

'I want to know what is going on?' Meredith said worried

'Mer, there is no need to panic. I don't know what is going on but I sure she is fine. After we both finish today we can drive over to her and talk to her' Derek said

'Okay, what about Zola and Bailey?'

'Well Zola can drive them home and they will be fine for one night'

'Okay, how was your surgery?'

'The patient didn't make it, Bailey took it hard'

'Is he okay?'

'Yeah, I spoke to him after the surgery. I told him that it is hard to lose patients, but it does get easier'

'Okay' Meredith said then her pager went off, 'I got to go'

'Wait' Derek said before kissing Meredith, 'See you later'

 **Ellis**

She had just finished shopping and they were on their way back to her room.

'I can't believe you took my shopping just so you could buy one pair of shoes' Jamie said

'She needed an opinion' Rachel laughed

'Let's just open this bottle' Ellis said walking into her room

'Ellis what are you doing?' Rachel asked worried about her friend

'Drinking'

'That's not what I meant. What are you doing with your life?'

'Whatever I want. I don't want to be here, I don't want to be a doctor. But I can't tell my parents. Both of them are surgeons, my sister is the chief resident and my brother has just started. I'm the failure'

'Why don't you tell them, they are your parents they will understand' Jamie said

'You two are supposed to be on my side' Ellis said

'We are, we just want you to be happy' Rachel said

'You're not on my side, you're both questioning what I'm doing' Ellis said taking a drink, 'Just leave me alone'

'Ellis' Jamie said

'Just get out and leave me alone' And with that Jamie and Rachel left her room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Zola**

Zola had just been told by her mom that she needed to take Bailey home tonight, since they were going to see Ellis. She paged Bailey to her office

'What time does your shift end?' Zola asked as he walked in

'8 why?'

'Because mom and dad are going to see Ellis, so I'm driving home'

'Okay then, can I go?'

'Sure'

Zola sat in her office, when she was paged to the ER for an emergency.

'You paged?' Zola said walking over to an intern who was with a patient

'Yeah, this is Mr Thatcher Grey. He has a deep laceration on his arm, a gash to the head and is drunk' The intern said. The name meant nothing to Zola.

'Okay, I'll take care of it' Zola said putting on some gloves

'Sir, can I take a look at your arm please' Zola asked, 'You are going to need a few stiches'

'I want to go home' The patient shouted

'Sir, you need stiches and I need to look at your head'

'I'm fine, leave me alone' He shouted before flinging his arm around and hitting Zola

'Doctor are you okay?' The intern asked

'I'm fine, I'll put ice on it when I'm done here' Zola said, 'Push 5 of morphine'

'Sir, I am going to stitch up your arm and then you can go' Zola got the suture kit ready and began to suture the patients arm. When she was done she checked his head, which was fine. Before discharging the patient.

She went back to her office, and checked her eye in the mirror. It was going to bruise, she was going to end up with a black eye. Her parents were going to ask about it

 **Meredith**

Meredith had just finished with her last patient of the day and rubbed her name off the OR board.

'Grey!' Mark shouted

'Mark?'

'Are you and Derek up for a drink tonight?'

'I can't sorry, I need to go and see Ellis'

'Has something happened?'

'They phoned me today and told me she hasn't been attending. So we are going to see what's going on'

'I'm sure she will just be…I don't know'

'Not making me feel any better Mark' Meredith said

'Well just tell her I said, make sure she is having fun'

'Right, thanks Mark'

Once her shift had finished, she met Derek in the parking lot before driving to see Ellis.

'What if something has happened Derek' Meredith said worrying about her daughter

'Meredith, I'm sure Ellis will be fine. I'm sure there will be a suitable explanation as to what's happened' Derek said trying to calm her down

'Why wouldn't she be going to school?'

'I don't know Mer, we will just have to wait and see until we get there'

Meredith sat in the passenger's seat looking out the window, thinking of all the possible reasons for her daughter's actions. Was she in trouble? Was she struggling? Had she dropped out?

 **Bailey**

It was now 8pm and Bailey was due to meet Zola and go home. He went to walk into the locker room when he heard the other interns talking

'He definitely called him dad' One intern said, he recognised to be Ryan Wilson

'So, he is Doctor Shepherd's son' Jason said

'That's why he got to do the surgery today'

'He's going to get all the surgeries and we will get nothing'

'Wait if Doctor Shepherd is his dad, then that makes Doctor Grey his mom. He's from surgery royalty. That also makes Doctor Grey-Shepherd, you know Zola, his sister' Ryan said

'I doubt Doctor Shepherd is her father, her mother so had an affair'

Bailey didn't want to listen to this anymore so he walked into the locker room and they all stopped talking.

'My mother didn't have an affair' Bailey said as he walked in

'What?' Jason asked

'You said my mom had an affair and that my dad can't be my sister's dad. My mom didn't have an affair, my sister is adopted because they had trouble getting pregnant. She came over as part of a programme from Africa, of sick kids. My father saved her life' Bailey said defending his sister

'We didn't…'Ryan started

'I don't care, and just because my parents are who they are doesn't mean I will get all the surgeries. They pick of talent not relations. I'd told them not to' Bailey said taking his things out his locker, 'Oh and don't ever talk about my family again' He said leaving the locker room and meeting his sister

'What's up with you?' Zola asked as Bailey slammed the door of her car

'Just the other interns' Bailey said, 'What happened to you?'

'Drunken man in the ER, hit me by accident'

'Wait until dad see's that' Bailey laughed

 **Derek**

Derek had just pulled up, and they were about to go and see what was happening. They walked to her room hand in hand, and he knocked on her door

'Come in!' They heard Ellis shout, so they opened the door and walked in

'Mom! Dad!'

'Ellis!' Derek shouted

'Wh…what are you doing here?' Ellis said clearly tipsy

'We came to check on you' Meredith said

'Why?'

'Because the school phoned and said that you hadn't been going in' Derek said

'Ellis what's going on?' Meredith said sitting on her daughter's bed next to Ellis

'Nothing' Ellis lied

'Ellis, you don't have to lie to us' Derek said

'I…err…I dropped out of med school' Ellis revealed

'What?' Derek asked

'Derek' Meredith said

'I don't want to do it anymore mom' Ellis said looking up at her mom, 'I don't want to be a surgeon. I know it's what you want of me but it's not what I want'

'We want you to be happy' Derek said crouching in front of his daughter

'Why didn't you tell us?' Meredith asked

'I didn't know how. I thought you would hate me for it'

'We could never hate you'

'I felt like I was letting you down. Dad, you come from a family of surgeons, and Mom, so do you. I mean your mom is Ellis Grey. That's who I'm named after, you don't understand how much pressure that is. And then Zola got made chief resident and I am happy for her, I am. Then Bailey started his internship, so I felt like I had to be a surgeon because everyone else is' Ellis said starting to tear up

'Ellis, sweetie. Nobody is making you be a doctor. If you don't want to be one you don't have to be' Meredith said

'Why don't you come home with us?' Derek asked

'I want to, but I don't want to leave Rachel or Jamie' Ellis said, 'Can I go and talk to them?'

'Of course, you can'

Ellis left the room to go and talk to her friends leaving her parents alone.

 **Ellis**

'Rachel, open up. It's me' Ellis said, 'Rachel!'

Ellis opened the door and walked in and almost cried at what she saw. Her boyfriend and best friend making out on her bed

'Ellis!' Jamie shouted shocked

'What are you doing?' Ellis shouted

'It's not what it looks like' Rachel said

'I highly doubt that. Did my so-called boyfriend fall onto your lips then? Is that right?'

'Let me explain' Jamie said

'No, do you know what. No. I don't care' Ellis said walking out and slamming the door behind her before re-entering her room

'I'm coming home with you guys'

'Let's pack your stuff then' Derek said. As they were packing Ellis's stuff, Rachel and Jamie walked in

'Ellis…I am so sorry' Jamie said, 'I didn't mean for you to see that' Jamie said not knowing her parents were in the room

'Ellis?' Meredith said

'Ellis, that's not how we wanted you to find out' Rachel said

'Find out what?' Derek said coming around the wall

'Oh' Jamie said, he was slightly scared of Ellis's dad

'Mom, Dad. I just walked in on Rachel and Jamie kissing'

'What!' Derek shouted

'I'm really sorry' Jamie said

'I bet you are' Ellis said, 'Just get out

A few hours later…

Meredith and Derek pulled up at their house and helped Ellis bring her things in.

'Hello!' Meredith shouted as she walked into her silent house

'Hey' Zola shouted from her room

Once all of Ellis's things were back in her room, Derek started to prepare tea. Once it was ready he shouted everyone and they all sat around the table

'Zola what happened to your face?' Meredith asked

'She got hit by a patient' Bailey laughed

'Really?' Derek asked

'It was by accident, he was drunk. But the weird thing was his name sounded familiar, I'd heard it before' Zola said

'What was his name?' Meredith asked

'Thatcher Grey' Zola said, causing Meredith to nearly choke on her food

'Mom, do you know his?' Ellis asked

'Err…no. No, I don't' She said sharing a look with Derek

'Okay then' Zola said

'I'm glad you're back Ellis, it's good to have everyone here' Derek said changing the subject

'What are you going to do now?' Bailey asked

'I don't know, I'll find a job'

'What about at the day care at the hospital. They are looking for someone' Meredith said

'I'll have a look'

'Oh, by the way' Bailey started, 'Everyone knows at the hospital. I know I said I wanted to keep it a secret but it came out'

'Why?' Derek asked

'They heard me call you dad after the surgery, and I overheard them talking. The said that if you're my dad that makes you my mom. Which makes Zola my sister, but dad you can't be her dad. So, they said that mom must have had an affair. Which is when I barged in and told them the truth

'They really said that?' Meredith asked shocked

'Yeah, but I told them that Zola was adopted. Then I also told them never to talk about my family again'

'Just ignore them Bails' Zola said

'Have you been thinking about next year Zola?' Derek asked

'I have, I have an idea of what to specialise in'

'Come on, tell us' Ellis said

'I was thinking about Cardio'

'Why cardio?' Derek asked

'Well originally I was thinking about general. But then I realised that I'd be following in the footsteps of mom and her mom and I didn't want that pressure. I don't really fancy neuro, ortho is boring and peds is for softies' Zola said

'Ah right then' Meredith said

Once the family had finished their dinner; Zola, Bailey and Ellis went to their rooms and Meredith and Derek were sat in the living room.

'I need to go and see Thatcher tomorrow and tell him to stay away from the hospital' Meredith said

'Meredith…'

'No Derek, he doesn't get to come to our hospital and lash out at our daughter. He might be my father but he is not getting to know our kids'

'Maybe you should let them, it will be good for them to have a bigger family'

'You're supposed to be on my side Derek' Meredith said with her voice getting louder so Bailey could hear from his room, 'I don't want my kids to know him. He doesn't deserve to know them. He walked away from me and my mom when things got hard, he left me alone. So, I grew up without a father. Thatcher is not getting to know my kids' Meredith said storming off to her room.


	3. Chapter 3

**I know this is only a short chapter, but I didnt know what else to write. I have an idea for the next chapter.**

 **I also need ideas for Ellis and what you guys want her to do? Please leave any ideas in the reviews.**

 **Bailey**

Bailey had spent the night thinking about what he had heard his parents talking about last night. He didn't want to talk to them about it and he knew if he spoke to Ellis she would speak to them. So, he went to Zola's office to speak to her

'Zola' Bailey said walking into the office

'Bailey'

'I need to speak to you about what I heard last night' Bailey said sitting down, 'Mom and dad were talking about the patient that hit you yesterday. Thatcher Grey, it's mom's dad. She was saying that he is not getting to know us'

'Why not?'

'I don't know properly, but I didn't want to speak to them about it'

'I'll ask them' Zola said, 'You need to get to rounds anyway'

Bailey left the office and went to the nurse's station to get the chart of the patient he had been put on. He went to check on his patient before going to find his resident to be given a new case. Sofia just sent him down to the clinic to do sutures and consults on patients that came in.

 **Zola**

After her conversation with Bailey, she went to find her mom.

'Mom' Zola said as her mom walked out the OR

'Zola, I was just coming to find you'

'Can I talk to you?'

'Sure'

'Bailey came to me earlier to talk about what he heard last night. He overheard you and dad talking about the patient that hit me yesterday. Thatcher Grey, he said that he is your father and that you won't let us know him'

'It doesn't matter Zola' Meredith said trying to avoid it

'Mom, he is my grandfather. He is our grandfather, what if we want to know him'

'Zola I'm not talking about this anymore' Meredith said starting to walk off

'Mom! Why not?'

'Fine. Thatcher Grey is my father, but he was a terrible father. My mother had an affair and when my dad found out he didn't try to fight for us. He was never a proper father to me, and he won't be a good grandfather. He left when I was five, then when I was an intern he came back with a new family. His new wife died, he slapped me and blamed me, he became an alcoholic'

'Oh mom, I'm sorry' Zola said

'Just forget about it, anyway I have a solo surgery and want to know if you want it'

'Yeah, I'll take it'

'It's wrote on the OR board'

'Thanks' Zola said before her mother walked away

 **Derek**

Derek knocked of the chiefs and walked into the office to see Miranda with her head in her hands

'Chief, you okay?' Derek asked

'Not really no'

'What's up?'

'I just had to make a call to switch off a life support machine, the patient's sister said to. I was informed that her husband turned up and wanted to see his wife. But she had gone, the husband wanted to see me but I couldn't face it'

'Miranda, I know what that is like. It's hard I know but it's part of the job and that's a call that you will have to make again'

'No, I don't' Miranda said looking up at him

'What do you mean?'

'I'm thinking of resigning, I can't do this anymore. I have spent years at this hospital, I missed so many parts of Tuck's life and now I am a grandmother and I don't spend any time with my family. I am going to resign as chief of surgery'

'Who's going to replace you?'

'I don't know yet, I was going to ask the attendings individually who they recommend'

'Meredith. What about Meredith? I mean, it has always been her dream of being the chief of surgery. It's something her mother never had chance to do, she would make an excellent chief'

'Does she want it right now?'

'I suppose so, she has been head of general since you became chief. She needs something new to challenge her'

'And you're happy with your wife being your boss?' Miranda asked

'I'm fine with it' Derek said

'I'll talk to her about it later and see what she thinks of it'

'Thanks chief'

 **Ellis**

Ellis didn't know what she wanted to do with her life now that she wasn't at med school and her friends were still over there. She didn't have anyone; all her family were doctors and she was nothing. She just wanted a job, and someone to love. She needed a person.

She was sat at home wondering what to do, she had eaten a full box of cereal, watched movies, cleaned her room.

 **Meredith**

Meredith walked out the attendings lounge after finishing her dinner when her pager went off. She was paged to the chiefs office.

'Chief, you paged' Meredith said walking in

'Sit down'

'What have I done?'

'Nothing. I want to talk to you about being chief'

'What?'

'I am resigning as chief, I want to spend more time with my family. Derek actually recommended you, so I spoke to the other attendings and they support you being chief. I would need to confirm with the board, but what do you think?'

'I would love to be chief' Meredith said, 'Thanks Chief'


	4. Chapter 4

A week later and Miranda had stepped down as Chief, and Meredith was the new chief. She was loving being in charge and being chief. She felt like she was doing her mother proud. Her first call as chief was that all residents would do a week in each specialty so they were sure what they would do next year. Zola was on neuro for her first week, so she was working alongside her father. Sofia was on peds which meant Bailey was too since he was her intern. Ellis finally found a temporary job in a café, until she decided what she really wanted to do. Little did Meredith know what her day was going to consist of.

 **Meredith**

Meredith sat in her office doing some paperwork, when an intern ran into her office covered in blood

'Doctor Ryder?' Meredith said staring at the intern, 'Why are you covered in blood?'

'He's dead, someone shot him' Lucy cried

'Who's been shot?' Meredith said walking over to her

'Jas…Jason Murray. Someone shot him, he's dead. There was blood everywhere, blood everywhere' She cried

'Alright calm down' Meredith said, 'Change into these' She said handing her a spare pair of scrubs

'What are you going to do?'

'I am going to call a lockdown while you call the police' Meredith said getting her pager and sending out a lockdown to every doctor and nurse in the hospital while Lucy phoned the police.

'Now you need to wait here'

'Where are you going?'

'I need to make sure everyone is safe, I am the chief. This is my hospital'

 **Zola and Derek**

They were scrubbing in before the surgery and Derek was making sure that Zola knew about the patient

'You ready?' Derek asked before walking in

'Ready' The pair of them walked into the OR and started the surgery. The patient had neurocysticerosis, which meant they had to remove it. Derek was doing his best to give Zola the best chance to try and convince her to do neuro next year.

They had almost completed their surgery, all they had to do was close up the incisions. Derek let Zola close up when a nurse spoke

'Doctor Shepherd'

'Yes'

'The chief has called for lockdown

'What?' Derek said grabbing his pager

'What's a lockdown?' Zola asked, 'Dad! What's a lockdown?'

'Everyone, the hospital is on lockdown. There is a shooter in the hospital. We need to stabilise this patient quickly and get him to ICU, then we get somewhere safe' Derek ordered

They closed up the patient and moved him to the ICU, thankfully it wasn't that far away from the OR. They made sure he was stable before leaving the patients room and locking themselves into a store room so they were safe.

'Dad, where's mom?'

'I don't know Zola, but she will be fine. I promise' Derek said trying to comfort his daughter

 **Bailey**

Bailey was in peds with his resident and Arizona Robbins.

'We don't have any surgeries scheduled today, so we will be checking on patients and making sure they stay stable' Arizona said

'Should be a quiet day then' Sofia said

'Don't say things like that' Bailey laughed, 'You'll jinx it'

Arizona was reading a chart when her pager went off

'Everyone!' She shouted, gathering everyone around the nurse's station, 'We are on lockdown. The chief has called for lockdown, there is a shooter in the hospital'

'What?' Bailey said

'What about the patients?' Sofia asked

'We need to move all peds patients into one room, they will be easier to watch since we are on lockdown'

'How?' Sofia asked

'All patients that can walk can walk the rest put in wheelchairs and move them' Arizona ordered

 **Meredith**

Meredith was rushing through the quiet halls of the hospital to make sure there was no one walking around. She didn't particularly want to run into the shooter, but she didn't know who it was. She had checked one side of the hospital, now she needed to check the other side. As she walked across the catwalk she paused. Remembering the last time there was a shooter in the hospital, remembering when her husband was lay on the floor bleeding. Dying.

 _'Hold on, OK? Hold on. I love you. Please don't die' Meredith cried as she held pressure on Derek's chest_

 _'Get out of here, Meredith, before he shoots you' Derek gasped_

 _'Do not die. Do you understand? I can't live without you'_

 _'I called the police' Christina said running up to them_

 _'If you die, I die. The police are coming' Meredith said trying to give some comfort to Derek_

 _'They're not gonna get here. They're not coming for us. Not in time'_

 _'I picked you!_

 _'What are we gonna do?'_

 _'I choose you. You don't die on me'_

She was not going to live through that again, she wasn't going to have anyone else die on her watch.

 **Derek and Zola**

'Dad, I'm scared' Zola said pacing

'Zola it's going to be alright. Your mother did the right thing'

'We are all going to be fine, we are here. Your mother will be in her office waiting on the police and Bailey is…'

'Where is Bailey' Zola butted in

'I don't know Zola. But he will be with his resident' Derek said, 'Come sit down'

Zola went and sat next to Derek and he pulled her into his body to comfort her. he had lived through this before, he didn't want her to be traumatised like he was.

'I can't believe this is happening again' Derek whispered

'Again?' Zola asked

'Yeah. Me and your mother have been through this again. A year after we got married, I was interm chief and there was a shooter in the hospital then'

'What happened?' Zola asked looking up at him

'I got shot, Uncle Alex got shot, your mother had a miscarriage'

'You got shot?'

'Yeah, Auntie Christina operated on me with a gun to her head' Derek told her

 **Bailey**

They had moved all the patients to one room so they didn't have to walk around the hospital. Bailey was sat in a chair clearly worried

'Bailey, you okay?' Sofia asked walking over. She cared about him, he was her best friends little brother

'I'm scared. I don't know where any of my family are'

'They are all safe, your mother called a lockdown. So, everyone will be safe. We are just waiting for the police'

'Thanks' Bailey said

 **Meredith**

Meredith had checked the whole hospital and hadn't come across the shooter, she was walking down near ICU to check on the patients and then go back to her office. She was passing an ICU room when she saw a man walking down the hall

'Excuse me, you shouldn't be walking around' Meredith said

'I'm looking for the chief' The man said

'I am the chief'

'This is your fault then'

'Excuse me?'

'You're the reason I couldn't say goodbye to my wife. You killed her, you switched off her life support' The man said

'I haven't done anything, who are you?'

'I am Jerry Wilkin and you killed my wife' Jerry said holding the gun up to Meredith

 **Derek and Zola**

'Shh' Derek said when he heard walking outside the room

They sat there in silence, waiting for whoever was outside to leave. Then they recognised the voice outside

'It's mom' Zola whispered

 **Meredith**

'Look Jerry, I have only been chief for a week. I haven't made that order. That would have been the chief before me' Meredith said trying to convince the man

'Then get her here'

'I can't. she doesn't work here anymore'

'Looks like you will have to do then' Jerry said, Meredith was staring down the barrel of the gun. Now she knows what Derek felt like all those years ago. All she could think about was the moment when Derek first told her he loved her.

'Please Mr Wilkin. If you put the gun down now we can talk about this'

'There's no point. I'll still go to jail' Jerry said, and then he saw the police SWAT team run in through the doors. The police were getting closer to them and Jerry started to panic

'I'm sorry' Jerry said, then there were two gun shots


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, the hospital was running properly again. Meredith was lay in her hospital bed. She still hadn't woken up from her surgery after being shot. Derek hadn't moved from the side of her bed, Zola had to be the one to tell Bailey and Ellis about what happened and they hadn't left her room either

'Will she be okay?' Ellis asked

'She has to be' Zola said

'She will be' Derek said, 'Your mom has been through a hell of a lot and she is still here. She has survived drowning, a bomb, a shooting and a plane crash. She isn't going to leave us now'

'She has really been through all that?' Bailey asked

'Do you know what happened when she drowned?' Derek asked wondering if they knew the story

'She drowned and you saved her' Ellis said

'She died. When I brought her out the water, she wouldn't come back to us. Her temperature dropped and her heart stopped, they wouldn't let me in the room. I had to sit outside and wait. But they brought her back, she came back to us' Derek said reliving the day he almost lost his love, 'She can survive anything'

'We need her' Zola said

'We just need to make sure that we are here for her when she wakes up?' Bailey said

'How's she doing?' Maggie asked walking, as she was her doctor as she was the nearest person to perform her surgery

'No change' Derek said still holding Meredith's hand and yawning

'When was the last time you slept?' Maggie asked

'About two days ago'

'Why don't you go home and have a nap and a shower? You all look like you could do with it'

'I don't want to leave her'

'I will stay here with her, I'm off now anyway. If there is any change I will phone you straight away'

'Fine' Derek said standing up, 'Make you call straight away' Derek placed a long kiss on Meredith's head before waiting for the kids to get up. Each of them placed a kiss on Meredith's head and they left the hospital to freshen up. So, Maggie sat in Derek's seat and took hold of Mer's hand.

'Hey Mer, it's me. You need to wake up, we all need you to wake up. It's been hours since your surgery. Derek is worried sick, he has only just left the hospital. And your kids need you, they are all refusing to work. Ellis is scared she has let you down, and if you die then she won't have made you proud' Maggie cried quietly

Just as the words left Maggie's mouth, Meredith started chocking. She was trying to breath over the ventilator

'Nurse!' Maggie shouted, within minutes she had taken the tube out of Meredith and she was awake

'Hey' Maggie said

'Hey' Meredith replied, 'Whe…where's Derek?'

'Him and the kids have just left to go and have a nap and shower. None of them have slept since it happened. They have been here the whole time' Maggie told her, 'Do you want me to call him?'

Meredith nodded, so Maggie picked up her phone and dialled Derek's phone. As he was driving Zola picked up

'Hello Derek Shepherd's phone…Hey Maggie…What…She is…okay, I'll tell dad' Zola said

'Moms awake'

Derek turned their car around and drove back to the hospital and ran to her room

'Mer' Derek said coming through her doors

'Hey' Meredith said trying to sit up

'I'm so glad you woke up' Derek said walking to her side, and her kids surrounded her bed

'I'll give you some time' Maggie said leaving the room

'Hey mom' Zola said, 'You scared us' She said leaning down to give her a hug

'I thought we lost you' Ellis said

'I love you mom' Bailey said

'I'm sorry' Meredith said, 'I didn't mean to scare you'

'It's not your fault Mer' Derek said sitting on the edge of her bed

'Did anyone else get hurt?'

'We lost an intern, a nurse and a security guard' Derek told her

'Which intern?'

'Jason Murray' Bailey said

'Oh, Bailey I am so sorry'

They were talking as a family until there was a knock at the door and everyone turned their heads to see Miranda Bailey stood at the door with some flowers

'I can come back' She said

'No, Miranda it's fine. Come in'

'Come on, let's leave these two to talk' Derek said

'No, she's the reason mom was shot' Ellis said, 'I'm not leaving'

'Ellis come on' Zola said

'Fine' She replied as they left the room, 'But we're coming back in five minutes'

'Meredith, I am so sorry for what happened. It shouldn't have happened to you. It was me he was looking for, I shouldn't have put your family through that' Miranda said sitting beside her bed

'Miranda, it's fine. These things happen, it's not like we haven't been through this before'

'I should have told you about it'

'It's not like you knew it was going to happen. Miranda, it is fine honestly, I am on the up now and getting better'

'I bet your family hate me, I bet Derek hates me'

'Miranda. Listen to me, this isn't your fault. You made the right call a week ago, turning off the life support. I would have preferred to not have been shot, but it was best if I got shot. I seem to be invincible' Meredith said smiling

'Just know, that I am here if you need anything' Miranda said, 'I best get going so you can talk to your family'

Later in the day, Maggie came back to Meredith's room to check how she was doing

'Hey, just a quick check' Maggie said, 'I need to check your stitches'

Meredith lifted her gown to reveal a line of stitches down her chest, she didn't particularly want to look at it so she looked over at Derek who was unable to take his eyes away from her beautiful body.

'Looking good, if your vitals stay up like this then you should be able to go home tomorrow' Maggie said

'How's the incision?' Derek asked

'It's good too'

'Just another to add to the collection' Meredith joked

'How did you end up with so many?' Maggie laughed

'Appendix…Liver…Spleen and kids' Meredith said pointing to each of her existing scars. She couldn't remember a time when she didn't have a scar, her body was scar less when she started her internship.

'Still beautiful though' Derek said

'Well, try and be careful. You are running out of organs'

'I will be' Meredith smiled

Derek and the kids had gone home later in the night leaving Meredith alone in her room. She spent some time talking to some of her colleagues who came in to see how she was doing, she watched the hospital TV for a while, and then she finally fell asleep. It took her a while to convince Derek to go home as he didn't want to leave her alone, but she was doing just fine.

She slept the whole night before being woken up by the interns who were rounding on her. She opened her eyes to see a set on interns stood at the end of her bed and Sofia asking them questions

'Who's presenting?' Sofia asked

'Me' Bailey said, 'Meredith Grey, 2 days post op from surgery to repair gunshot wound. Vitals stable since yesterday and incision healing nicely. Should be allowed home later today'

'Bailey?' Meredith asked

'Hey mom' Bailey replied, not scared to hide their relationship

'Can I go home yet?'

'Later mom, dad will come and pick you up. He and Zola have the day off'

Once the interns left the room, Maggie came in with Meredith's discharge papers. She signed the papers then went into her bathroom and changed out of the hospital gown into a pair of sweats and a jumper. She just had to wait for Derek to get here.

'Hey, you ready?' Derek asked walking in

'Definitely' Meredith said before her eyes set of Zola pushing a wheelchair, 'What is that for?'

'You' Zola said

'I don…'

'It's hospital policy mom, you know that'

'Fine' Meredith said sitting in the wheel chair, and being pushed out by Derek as Zola carried her bag.

She just wanted to get home, she loved being at the hospital as a doctor but hated it as a patient. Once she was home, she was tired. So, she sat on the couch with her feet up and Derek made her, her favourite meal and Zola made her a cup of coffee. Ellis had tidied the house before she got home and Bailey was still at the hospital on his shift. When bailey got home they spent the night as a family watching movies and talking


	6. Chapter 6

Maggie had stepped in as interm chief, while Meredith was recovering at home. She had given the Shepherds a few days off while Meredith recovered and, so they could spend some time as a family. Miranda had come around on one of the day to apologise again and see if Meredith needed anything, Miranda still felt bad for what happened to Grey and wanted to be there for her if she needed anything.

'Do you need anything?' Miranda asked sat at the other end of the sofa from Meredith

'Miranda, I am fine. It still hurts a little bit, but I am fine. I don't have nightmares anymore and I don't need to take the medication now' Meredith said

'I know, I just…'

'Miranda, she's fine' Derek laughed

'I'm sorry' Miranda smiled

'Anyway, how's tuck?' Meredith asked, it had been years since she has seen Miranda's son

'He's alright. He split from his wife a few years ago and he has twin daughters. He's moving back to Seattle next week, and he's been asking about a certain someone' Miranda said looking over at Zola

'Me?' Zola questioned

'Yeah, he's been asking how you are and I'm sure he asked me last night if you were single still'

'Zola and Tuck sitting in a tree. G' Ellis sang like a child laughing

'Shut up Ellis' Zola said

'He'd make a great brother in law' Bailey said

'I may have given him your number' Miranda smiled, then suddenly Zola's phone rang

'Hello…Tuck?...hey how are you doing…that's good…I heard, your mother is in my house now…yeah I'd love to' Zola hung up the phone and saw everyone staring at her, 'What?'

'How's Tuck?' Ellis asked

'He's fine, and it turns out he is coming to Seattle sooner than you thought Miranda. He's in his apartment now and wants to go for drinks tonight' Zola said

'Aww, it's meant to be' Bailey joked

'I better go and get ready' Zola said

'Do you want me to help you pick an outfit?' Meredith asked her daughter

'Thanks mom, I'm going to take a shower' Zola said getting up and going to the bathroom

'I better get going then' Miranda said

'Do you want me to give you a lift?' Derek asked, 'Zola is going to want me to give her a lift, so I can take you both back into town'

'Yeah, thanks Derek' Miranda said, meanwhile Zola had just got out the shower.

'I've got my two favourites dresses out of your selection' Meredith said holding up two dresses. One was a black short tight dress and the other was a red cocktail dress

'I think the black one' She said taking it and putting it on, 'What do you think?'

'You look beautiful Zola' Meredith said

'Thanks mom'

Once Zola was ready, Derek drove her and Miranda into Seattle centre to meet Tuck. Tuck took Zola to a near restaurant and bought her dinner before going to Joe's for some drinks. Tuck had always had a thing for Zola but never thought anything would happen, and Derek had always scared him, so he never dared try and ask her out. When their date was over Tuck paid for Zola's cab back to her house, but before she left they shared their first kiss.

A year and a half later, it was summer, and Derek and Meredith were holding a surprise birthday party for Zola. They had invited everyone around; Derek's mom and sisters, Miranda and Ben, Arizona and Sofia, Richard and Catherine, and some of the other interns and residents from the hospital. They were all in the back garden waiting for Tuck to arrive with Zola, after picking her up from the hospital.

'Right, go upstairs and get changed. I'm taking you out' Tuck said

'I don't really want to go out babe' Zola said

'It's your birthday so we are celebrating, now go upstairs and change' Tuck said, he finally convinced her to get changed. A few minutes later she came back downstairs. 'I have planned for us to go and watch the sunset over the river before we go for dinner'

'Okay then' Zola said

Tuck took hold of Zola's hand and they walked out of the house towards the back garden. When they stepped out of the doors, everyone jumped up and shouted 'SURPRISE!'

'Oh my god' Zola shouted, surprised that everyone she loved was in front of her but in the middle, were her parents and siblings.

'Happy birthday baby' Tuck said

'Thank you' Zola said giving him a hug, 'Did you do this?'

'No, it was your mom and dad's idea' Tuck said, Zola turned around a saw her mom and dad walking up to them

'Happy birthday Zola' Derek said giving his daughter a hug, 'Thanks dad'

'Happy birthday sweetie' Meredith said hugging her daughter, 'This is for you' She said handing her an envelope

'What is it?' Zola asked

'Open it' Derek said

'Wait we need one more person. Miranda!' Meredith shouted Miranda over

'Right, open it' Derek smiled

Zola opened the envelope and took out the contents. It was a pile of papers, but she didn't know what they were for. The front page read ' _Grey Sloan Memorial Board',_ 'I don't understand mom'

'This present is from me, your dad and Miranda'

'Since leaving the hospital, I have been able to spend more time with my family, but I still have board meetings to attend to. I don't want to do that anymore, so I am giving you my seat on the board' Miranda said

'What?'

'We need someone on the board who knows what the younger generations want' Derek said

'Welcome to the board Zola' Meredith said

'Thank you so much Miranda, I can't wait'

'Now go mingle with everyone' Tuck said smiling, Zola walked off with her mom and Miranda to greet everyone.

'Derek, may I ask you a question?' Tuck asked

'Sure Tuck' Derek said taking a sip of his drink

'I love your daughter more than anything, well apart from my daughters. I know Zola loves me as much as I love her, and my daughters love her too. I want to ask you for your daughter's hand in marriage' Tuck asked

'You want to marry my daughter? You…You want to marry…' Derek started, 'I'm joking, of course you can Tuck. When are you going to ask her?'

'I actually have the ring now, I was thinking of doing it later'

'Sounds great Tuck, now let's enjoy the day' Derek said shaking Tucks hand before joining the party.

The presents that Zola had been given, she had put them in a pile inside to open them later and then she would say thank you to everyone. She made sure she spent equal time with everyone, she caught up with her aunties that she hadn't seen in months and spoke to her cousins.

'Hello darling' Carolyne said walking over to Zola

'Hey nan' Zola said hugging Derek's mother, 'How are you?'

'I'm good, a bit tired after looking after the grandkids but I love it. How are you doing? You father told me you are chief resident'

'Yeah, I am, I got it the year Bailey started working at the hospital. I'm also now a member on the board, that's what Miranda gave me for my birthday'

'You take after your parents. How's that boyfriend of yours?'

'He's great, I love him so much. He has twin daughters and I love them too'

'That's lovely darling, well you go and spend some time with your friends'

'See you later nan' Zola said before hugging her again and walking off towards Sofia

'Are you ready?' Derek asked Tuck who was pacing inside

'Yeah I think so'

'What are you going to say?'

'That I love her, I want to spend my life with her'

'Let's do it now then' Derek said, Derek and Tuck walked outside and made sure everyone had a glass of champagne.

'Excuse me everyone, I would like to say a few words. I just want to wish a very big happy birthday to my amazing girlfriend Zola, she has made me so happy over the past year and a half. She is amazing and never questions me. She hasn't even questioned why I haven't given her a present yet, but I have it here. So, Zola, come here babe' Tuck said holding his hand out for Zola to take, and he looked over her shoulder and nodded at Derek

'I love you so much Zola, you are amazing and beautiful and everything I could wish for in a woman. I didn't know what to get you for your birthday, but then it hit me. There is only one thing that I could get you' He took out a little box out of his pocket, 'Zola Grey Shepherd, will you marry me?' He asked getting down on one knee

'Yes! Yes, I will' Zola said tearing up. Tuck placed the ring onto her finger, stood up and kissed her. Zola looked down at the diamond on her finger with tears in her eyes before looking at her fiancé and kissed him again. Everyone started clapping and cheering.

'Did you ask my dad?' Zola smiled

'I did' Tuck said

Zola looked around to find her mom in the group of people, she saw her mom stood behind everyone with tears in her eyes. Her mom's eyes hit hers, then she turned and ran off. Zola saw her mom run off, so she ran after her. She found her mom sat on the nearby dock with her feet dangling in the water

'Mom?' Zola said walking over to her, 'Mom? What's wrong?'

'Nothing Zola, just go back to the party. I'll be there in a minute'

'I'm not going anywhere mom, not until I know what's wrong' Zola said sitting beside her mom

'When your dad first came to me about adopting you, I thought he was crazy. We were talking about having a family, but I didn't know if I was ready to be a mom. But he talked me into it, then you needed your surgery. I stood outside the OR the whole time, I paced outside the whole time. I was scared that anything could go wrong and that we could lose you' Meredith said looking out across the water with tears building up in her eyes again, 'Then you came home with us. We were a family, you were everything I needed other than your father. Then Bailey and Ellis came along, and I thought you would feel different, but you never did. Not that I know of. We were a family, the 5 of us. I didn't have to worry about you leaving, or moving out. But now you're engaged and then you'll get married. You'll move out'

'I'm not going anywhere mom'

'What if you do what your father did? He got married, then it didn't work, and he left. He moved across the country, he very rarely sees his family. He doesn't see is mom, his sisters. I don't want that to happen. I don't want it to be like that, for me to only see you once a year, only see you at Christmas'

'That won't happen mom, I'm going to stay in Seattle. It's where I have always lived, I don't know anything other than Seattle, and I would never want to move away from you. I couldn't imagine my life without you and dad, Bailey or Ellis'

'I have spent my whole life with people walking away from me. My father walked away from me, my mother spent my childhood at work and then she didn't even recognise me when I was older. Even your dad walked away from me once, Christina walked away. I can't have you walk away Zo'

'Mom, listen to me. I would never let a man come in between me and my family. You taught me that, I would never let Tuck make me move across the country, I am staying in Seattle. Seattle is my home. I am going to go back to work on Monday, have my first meeting with the board. I will become an attending soon, then I will become the next chief when you retire or give up the role' Zola said smiling

'I love you Zo'

'I love you too Mom, now let's get back to the party'


	7. Chapter 7

Meredith, Zola, Ellis and Sofia were inside the house getting ready for the wedding. Zola and Tuck had planned their wedding, and they were having it in the garden at the dream house. Everyone had come together to make this the best day that it could be, after all they needed something happy and exciting to look forward to after all the negative in their lives.

'You ready Zola?' Sofia asked, Zola was in the bathroom with her Ellis putting her dress on. Her make up and hair were done.

'Yeah' She replied, Ellis opened the door and walked out followed by Zola

'Oh my god' Sofia gasped, 'You look amazing'

Zola stood in a strapless tool ballgown, and looked over at her mom who teared up

'Mom, don't cry' Meredith stood speechless looking at her daughter

'You're going to ruin my make-up'

'I'm sorry Zo, I didn't want to cry. I just can't believe it. My baby Zozo is getting married'

'Mom, I'm not a baby anymore and you know I don't like being called Zozo anymore' Zola said walking over to her

'You will always be my baby and my Zozo' Meredith wiped the tear that fell down Zola's face, 'Lets go get you married'

'Let's go guys' Ellis said

'Wait, somethings not right' Zola said stopping walking

'Zola?' Sofia said

'Mom'

'Yeah?'

'Will you give me away with dad? I want both of you to walk with me'

'Anything for you baby'

The four of them made their way to the patio doors which would lead to the aisle they would walk down. Sofia checked to see if everything and everybody was ready. At the other end of the aisle she could see Tuck stood waiting with Bailey. Derek waited at the doors for his daughter.

'You look stunning' Derek said as Zola walked over

'Let's do this' Zola said

The music started playing. The doors opened, and Sofia and Ellis began to walk down. Meredith stood one side of Zola and Derek on the other, they all linked arms and they walked down towards Tuck. When they reached the front Derek handed Zola's hand to Tuck and they sat down on the front set of chairs.

It was the most beautiful ceremony, Meredith couldn't help but cry and Derek teared up too. Their daughter was getting married. Once the ceremony was over, everyone went inside for the reception. A few hours later and it was time for the speeches. Tuck didn't want to do one, so Zola said she would and Derek was going to do one

'I just want to thank everyone for coming to my very special day. If I'm being honest, I never thought I would get married, I didn't see myself as that kind of person. But when Tuck came back into my life, something changed. I felt like I had to have him in my life, I had to marry him. So, thank you Tuck for coming back into my life, and making me a better woman. I also want to give a huge thank you to my mom and dad' Zola said looking at them, 'So many years ago, when I came here I was just a surgery needy orphan. But these two-amazing people took me in and adopted me and I became the daughter to two world class surgeons, who have given me everything I have ever needed. So thank you so much mom and dad, I love you with all my heart'

When Zola finished her speech, everyone applauded with some people in tears at what Zola had said. Next is was Derek's turn to do his speech, he had thought about what he was going to say

'Firstly, I want to say congratulations to the newly wed couple, and wish you forever happiness. Secondly, I just want to say how proud I am of you Zola. You have become the most amazing daughter, I always knew you would become a surgeon and that you would do me and your mother proud. So, we want you to have the best life possible and be happy and loved. Finally, Tuck just so you know, if you hurt my daughter you will have me to deal with' Derek joked before being applauded by everyone.

Everyone was having such an amazing time, they were dancing, and drinking, and laughing.

Meredith stood to the side of the room and watched her family who were all dancing together. Her youngest, Ellis had matured and changed over the passed 2 years, she still didn't know what she wanted to do but she was proud of her. Bailey, her only little boy, was becoming a great doctor and would do anything for this family. Zola, her first born, she may not be her biological daughter, but she loved her just as much as the other two. She was on the road to becoming as good a surgeon as her and Derek. And her husband, who stood with his arms around their three children, her amazing husband. She loved him more than anything, that one night stand all those years ago had become the love of her life.

She had the best life anyone could ask for.


End file.
